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The Hyattsville City Council voted to extend voting rights to 16 and 17 year old residents in city elections after a well-attended public hearing on the issue. Hyattsville became the second municipality in the U.S. to lower their voting age.

FairVote has submitted comments to the Federal Election Commission supporting Level the Playing Field in its mission to change the biased selection criteria for the presidential and vice presidential debates. FairVote supports alternative means of candidate qualification and believes the FEC should do more to encourage broad and open debates.

UPDATE: Level the Playing Field has posted additional materials, including letters of support from the Campaign Legal Center and League of Women Voters here.

This year, Virginia’s Arlington County Democratic Committee (ACDC) successfully implemented ranked choice voting (which they refer to as “instant runoff voting”), to select nominees for three special elections. Leaders in the ACDC have expressed their satisfaction with instant runoff voting and – according to an exit poll conducted by FairVote this May – voters liked it too.

Thirteen states have voted Republican in every presidential election since 1980. How does their voter turnout compare to the rest of the nation? FairVote shows their turnout is much lower... and the gap appears to be growing. (This blog updates previous findings from 2011.)

Today the Michigan Committee on Elections and Ethics met for the second time to hear testimony on a bill that would change the way that Michigan distributes its electoral votes. FairVote director Rob Richie weighed in, presenting important new analysis.

Next week, the results of the New Zealand Labour Party's leadership election will be announced. The New Zealand Labour Party is the latest political party to use ranked choice voting (RCV) to determine its leader. This article documents the tried and true use of RCV in internal party elections in New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Scotland. International experience augurs well for the use of RCV in party elections within the United States, especially the Republican Presidential Caucuses in Iowa.

State legislators may soon consider changing the way they distribute electoral votes in presidential elections. Should they distribute electoral votes by congressional district? Should they distribute electoral votes proportionally? We weigh the various options and find that the national popular vote plan is the strongest policy by far.